Category: Music

I really despise the Grammy Awards. Its not that I hate the concept of awarding albums and songs which had overstepped boundaries in music, but I hate the fact that none of the songs which do this are ever winners. The only thing celebrated in the Grammy’s is which song was most popular, not necessarily showing the best instrumental and vocal talents. Just which ones arbitrarily got people’s attention. And by “arbitrarily,” I really mean which artist had given the most money to give their albums publicity.

The deadline is a joke too. For those unaware, any music released between Oct. 1 of 2015 and Sept. 31 2016 are allowed to be nominated. Why not just make it yearly, making any music released in 2016 viable for being nominated? Makes too much sense to me. And this problem really is prevalent this year. Lady Gaga, who would have been a sure-fire nominee over JB’s, “Purpose,” and maybe even Drake’s, “Views,” is not eligible until it is forgotten about much later this year. Some other albums, which would just about be sure-fire nominees for a Grammy, include Kid Cudi’s, “Passion, Pain, and Demon-Slayin'” and Childish Gambino’s “‘Awaken My Love!'” Both these albums will not be nominated next year due to irrelevance and its a shame because both were excellent.

Here are some legal notable misses in my mind (Dates from Wikipedia. Yes people say it might be inaccurate, but when is it really?):

Fitz and the Tantrums for album, “Fitz and the Tantrums” (June 10 2016)

Red Hot Chili Peppers for album, ” The Getaway” (June 17 2016)

Cash Cash for album, “Blood, Sweat, & 3 Years” (June 24 2016)

Nao for Best New Artist

ZHU for album, “Generationwhy” (July 29 2016)

DJ Snake for album, “Encore” (Aug 5 2016)

A few personal favorites that would realistically have no shot include newest albums by The Dear Hunter, What So Not, and Thao and the Get Down Stay Down. And yes I am well aware that this list is huge. That does not mean that I believe that any of the actual nominees are undeserving. I just wish that more lower honors, but still awards, were given out to bands that produce music that may not have been as mainstream but was still impactful and original enough to be praised in some other way.

I don’t plan on making this a prediction post, because a lot of the genres I am ignorant to. I am almost certain that I missed a few albums of other genres that I pay little mind to in my list, for example. I will say that 25 or Lemonade should win album of the year and Hello should win song and record. Best soundtrack should be the Suicide Squad soundtrack. Best Rock Song should be My Name is Human (in part because its the only rock song on the list). Best Rock album should be Magma by Gojira. And that’s all I could give input to. Have fun watching the Grammy’s if you plan to.

To admit my bias, I really hate most, “pop,” music. Some artists, like the Weeknd or Sia, bridge the gap for me, but pop music is the metaphorical mantlepiece of why music in modern society has been far less memorable than that of artists back in the day. If you think about it, who currently topping the charts is a legendary figure to look back on, akin to Michael Jackson or Johnny Cash or Elvis Presley? The list of these legends goes on, but it will not continue to grow if the popular music of our society sounds like everything we as the human race have already heard before just with a change of lyrics.

Similar to my mobile gaming post (here), I cannot blame the artists for playing a game by the rules. The fact is that people will listen and buy more music from artists that sound similar to others than from those who are not. And history proves this. Despite Daft Punk’s record being the most critically acclaimed albums of the 2013, Justin Timberlake’s album had gotten the most sales that year (1), likely due to its relative simplicity and lack of change rhythmically. It is the artist’s decision to supply this type of “watered-down”music, however it is the consumer that dictates the demand.

So why do I call pop music, “watered-down”? Well, its best to think of opera music when explaining this. In opera, people act to protrude their voices to their maximum potential. When seeing an opera singer perform, you can really tell that their voice is authentic and, in many ways, stunning. In my opinion, music with vocals is best when the singer is clearly trying and putting in a full effort. It is beautiful to see a person sing to their fullest potential in the same way it is to see an athlete clearly use all his strength to get a goal or get in the end-zone. The realization of the fact that a human is able to perform such an act in genres like opera, or even in some cases metal, is truly awing.

In modern day pop music, the editors add funky noises and the singers dilute their voice to be akin to that of what is now modern pop. Some songs and artists benefit from this unnatural dilution, but more, in my mind, do not. And again, some people may like this type of pop music more, but I am questioning the lasting impressions some of these songs have. I am also not for music only being opera. I want to make clear that I love all music that is original. I am merely complaing about modern music and its lack of originality.

The walls surrounding the genre of pop music have also become much more constraining. The consumer has motivated artists to stick to a certain style of music, without any lead-way to experiment. Back in the day, Johnny Cash could be considered “pop” in some circles. It wasn’t his common voice that made him so successful. It was Cash’s rebelliousness with his voice that made him so popular. This type of experimentation is what I wish to see more in modern pop music. Pop is not the same as it was in the past. Nowadays, there is almost a whole other genre based around pop music, a genre which once was known for being varied. I ask all future artists to at least attempt to sing or perform outside the box that modern society has created around the idea of music. Without innovators, music will turn into a mere fad that will become less interesting and stunning.

Thanks for reading. More to come. Planning on posting Mon. Wends. and Fri., although that is not set in stone.